Falsities
by ScarletSummer
Summary: Harry never thought he would sink so low as to seek out a strip club to lift his spirits, but his visit to an exotic dance bar results in a lot more than a bit of carnal release when it leads Ginny Weasley to his bed.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- Harry Potter is not mine.

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A/N: This story is out of character-I know. Does not include the sixth book, their sixth and seventh years are made up by me. All the chapters will most likely be short but I will update often.

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Falsities

Chapter one

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"Name?" a thin lady with her bleach blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail asked in voice that clearly said she had done this too many times for her liking.

"Virginia Lawrence," the girl replied quietly.

"Age?"

"Eighteen."

"Mr. Brackner will see you now. Last door on the right," the secretary said tiredly. The girl made her way down the dark hallway. The whole building smelled like alcohol, drugs, and sex. She found the proper door and knocked.

"Come in, come in," said a voice from inside. The girl walked into what was a very small, dim office. The only light came from a weak lamp sitting on a desk behind which sat Mr. Brackner. Mr. Brackner was a hefty man, not overweight however. He appeared to be in his early to mid thirties and was smoking a large cigar.

"My name is Virginia Lawrence," the girl said. The man motioned to a chair in front of the desk and she sat down.

"And you would like a job as a dancer, correct?" he said, putting out the cigar and placing his hands carefully in his lap.

"Yes, sir," she replied.

"Why?" This was not a question she had expected. She came prepared to tell them her name, age, measurements, and other general information. Why? Why _was _she there? She had to get money somehow. She was living on her own, having shunned the life she used to lead, and desperately needed money. She had no one to ask for the money, she had no one to help her. All her friends had started ignoring her when she announced she didn't want to 'be like them'. Why would she? The whole world filled with despair and destruction, who would want to be like _them? _Being like them pulled her directly into the front line of fighting. Thing is, Ginny Weasley did not want to fight.

"I need money," she said, shame-faced.

"I see. Okay, you can start working tonight, if you wish," he said simply.

"Really? Is that all there is to it? I just start?" she asked, astonished.

"Yes, you can have one of the other girls show you how to dance. You could start as a waitress tonight though."

"Alright. I want to begin now, if that's alright," she said timidly. Had she really lowered herself to this level? Giving out a fake name and age so she could pole dance for a bunch of guys who either didn't have a wife or girlfriend, or wasn't excited by her anymore? _I have to live somehow. _She told herself. How else was she going to get a job? She wasn't qualified for anything in this world. She only had her education from _their_ type. That would not get her far out in this place. So far away from everyone she used to know, even love, yet so very close to them. They lived in the city, just a few streets away. They would never discover she was there though. They would never look for her in a muggle erotic dancer bar.

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A/N: Please review! I love reviews and I love reviewers! Click the little blue button! It wants you to! 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.

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A/N: This one is sort of rushed because I wanted to get to a certain part and there really wasn't much else I could put in.

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Falsities

Chapter two

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"Phoenix, hurry up," said a woman with auburn hair.

"I know Echo, keep you shirt on," the girl replied.

"My shirt ain't on anyways, girl," she said with a grin. The girl gave her a fake smile and finished applying her eyeliner below her fake eyelashes. _Everything is fake now. _The girl thought sadly. She claimed to be eighteen, so she could work there when she was only seventeen. She had a fake name for her fake name. She became employed as a dancer under the name _Virginia Lawrence. _She then used the stage name _Phoenix; _Phoenix is one of the only things linking her to her past. The past she would rather not think about. No one had called her by her birth name, _Ginny Weasley, _since she left _their_ world.

The girl had been working at the bar for about a month now, serving drinks mainly, but two days ago she had begun actually dancing. She had been trained by Echo since her first day and was getting the hang of it. All the girls for her shift finished getting ready and headed out onto the stage as the ones that were on before them exited, counting the money they had made.

About a quarter of the way through her shift, the girl caught sight of someone in the crowd. It was a man who looked oddly familiar. _No, it couldn't be him_. She hadn't seen him for two years now. After that original glance, she didn't see him again that night. Or the night after, or for the next week, though she kept looking. Part of her wanted to see him, to hear his voice again, to just talk how they used to. The other part of her knew that would never happen. She wasn't the person she had been two years ago. She didn't want him to know she worked in a place like this. No, it was definitely better that she never talked to him again. Who says it was actually him anyway? There had to be plenty of guys in London with hair and eyes those colors.

"Wait!" a man's voice called from behind her as she walked out of the bar, she was done for the night. Used to being followed by guys who wanted a personal dance, she ignored the voice, though it seemed slightly familiar, like she had heard it only once or twice. "Wait!" the voice called again, as if unsure whether she had heard him. There were loud pounding footsteps and a man fell into step beside her. "Don't I know you?"

"That would be more likely to work if three guys hadn't used that line on me tonight," she replied coldly.

"I'm serious," he said, moving in front of her so she had to stop walking. She wrapped her coat tighter around her body as a cool wind came through the alleyway.

"No," she said and tried to get past him. He grabbed her shoulders and looked down into her eyes.

"Ginny," he whispered so quietly, she hardly heard him.

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A/N: I hope you liked it. Once again, PLEASE review! I will love you if you do. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.

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Falsities

Chapter three

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Completely shocked, Ginny leaned against the brick wall of the bar and tried to process this.

"Don't you recognize me?" he asked worriedly.

"Harry," she replied weakly.

"Oh gods Gin, what have you gotten into?" he asked, walking over and hugging her.

"I don't know," she murmured into his shirtfront.

"Your mother told me that you had left and things were hard for you, but I,… I never imagined..." This only made the tears that had gathered in her eyes begin falling onto his shirt.

"I'm sorry," she said. Everything felt wrong now, it was as if she had been in a dream and Harry's presence woke her up. She had known working there wasn't the best choice, but what else could she have done? She needed money and she couldn't have possibly stayed in the magical world.

"Hold on tightly," he said quietly. She knew what was about to happen. She felt like she was being suffocated for a few moments, the only thing that seemed to be keeping her from falling was Harry. They ended up on a landing in an apartment building. He let go of her with one arm and unlocked the nearest door. Harry pulled her inside of the dark apartment. He flicked a switch and the lights turned on, hurting her eyes. They were extremely bright compared to the dark bar. "How about some tea?" he offered, leading her into the kitchen.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, ignoring his offering of tea.

"I can't let you keep working there. You are so far above that, Gin," he said truthfully.

"What makes you think that?" she asked, suddenly protective. What gave him the right to just randomly do this?

"I know you are, and you do too," he said tiredly, sitting down across from her at the kitchen island and pouring her some mint tea. She looked at his face. It was oddly pale, paler than it usually was, and the bright lights didn't cause it. He had dark circles under his green eyes that now appeared haunted and hollow. He vaguely reminded her of Professor Lupin.

"Harry, I'm fine," she insisted. "I think you're the one who has been through a lot."

"Ginny, why won't you let me help you?" he asked in the same dull voice.

"Why were you at the bar anyway?" she inquired, once again ignoring his question.

"I haven't been in the best mood recently. I thought maybe I would be cheered up by going there. It has yet to actually work out," he sighed heavily.

"Why have you been so unhappy?" she questioned, sipping her tea.

"Lonely basically," he stated sadly. "Why can I tell you this? Hermione and Ron and everyone have asked me this so many times, but I can't tell them anything. I just don't think they would get it. I know none of us have had it easy, but I can't help but think life has had more mercy on them than me. Maybe it's because we're in the same boat, you and me."

She stared at him, not knowing what to say. They sat in an awkward silence for several minutes before she found he voice.

"I'm not really in a good mood either. I don't feel like talking at the moment. Just running into you like that has given me a lot to think about. I'm really tired Harry," she said, desperate to end the silence.

"Yeah, me too. Let's go to bed," he said, standing up. "You can sleep in my bed, I'll take the sofa."

"Why do you want me to stay here?"

"Like I said, I don't want you going to that bar. Just stay tonight at least. We can talk more tomorrow."

"Okay, but I don't want to impose. You take the bed," she responded stubbornly.

"I will not let you sleep on the sofa, Ginny," he said.

"Well you shouldn't either," she argued.

"Would you be opposed to us sharing the bed?" he asked her cautiously. "I swear I will keep my hands to myself and stay on my side of the bed."

She grinned. "Harry, I am not 15 anymore. I work at an exotic dancer bar. I don't think you have to go to extremes if we sleep together," she replied, a smile almost creeping onto her face.

"Okay. If this is too personal, you don't have to answer, but, er, Ginny are you a virgin?" he asked timidly.

"Yeah. Why? Are you?"

"Yes I am. And it's just it seems like you feel sleeping with me is no big deal."

"I think it is a big deal, even if you do only sleep. But I have known you long enough and like you enough not to be particular about it. You could have your arms around me the whole time and I would be comfortable. I trust you Harry. I just don't understand you sometimes. Can we sleep? Please?" she rushed through her words, desperate to end the conversation.

"Okay then. Do you want to sleep in something else?" he offered.

"Do you have any over-sized t-shirts? I like to sleep in those," she answered as they walked into his bedroom.

"Yeah. Here," he said, handing her a large t-shirt bearing the words "Chudley Cannons" and their logo. Just this simple reminder of the magic world nearly brought back the tears she had tried so hard to hold back for the past few months. She put it on however, after telling Harry to avert his eyes, and sat down on the edge of the bed. He pulled off his shirt and she had to keep herself from openly goggling. He was very well built, probably from years of Quidditch, but he wasn't overly muscular, just very well toned. He continued and pulled off his pants so he was only in his boxers, they also said "Chudley Cannons". He caught her staring and smiled.

"Ron bought them for me," he said, meaning the shirt and boxers.

"How is Ron?" she asked softly as he sat down next to her.

"Good. Doing well in his auror training. He misses you though. Everyone does. I do," he said quietly.

"Don't you mean you _did_ miss me, not you _do_?" she asked.

"Um, yeah." They laid down on the bed and pulled the covers over them

"Good night, Ginny," he whispered into her ear as he hugged her.

"Night, Harry," she replied as he pulled back. She snuggled up to him, his arm around her shoulders and her head on his chest. For her it was more of a comfort thing to be so close to him that anything. At least she thought it was.

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A/N:I hope you liked that this was longer. I added lots of stuff i hadn't intended to be there to make it longer for you all. it think it helped actually, so thank you all. I love my reviewers, of course. Her personality, by the way, changes from being all quiet in the beginning to not being that way because she becomes more comfortable when she's with Harry. PLEASE REVIEW! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.

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A/N: Sorry, sorry, a billion times sorry. I know this is overdue, but I haven't been able to write lately. Sorry it is also very short.

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Falsities

Chapter Four

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"Ginny, wake up," Harry whispered, nudging her. They were still in the same position as they were the night before.

"What?" she asked drowsily.

"Wake up, Gin," he said quietly. She smiled at him.

"Harry," she said, running her hand over his cheek. "Oh, Harry. I am sorry. Really, really sorry..."

"Why are you sorry?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

"I have screwed it all up, Harry. Mum thinks I'm a whore- although I probably am, Ron hates me, Fred and George won't talk to me, Bill and Charlie are pretending I don't exist, and dad- oh gods, my dad has gone crazy. I did that to him, Harry. I messed it all up," she said into his chest, tears streaming down her face. "And all that happened before I left. I have no clue what's going on now. I am such a horrid person."

"Ginny, don't be so hard on yourself. Honestly, that isn't entirely your fault. Your family doesn't hate you. They care about you and want you back. You didn't make your dad that way. The stress of everything going on was just too much, many men would have collapsed much sooner than he did. You are not a whore, but I don't think working at that bar was the best idea. Your family put way too much pressure on you, and I know you were, and still are, too young to take it. They really shouldn't have tried to force you into anything. Times are desperate in the wizarding world though, Gin. You can't blame them too much. Your parents are nice people, maybe too nice. They were trying to help everyone at once and lost sight of what was right for their own children," Harry said. He lifted her face to meet his and wiped the tears off her cheeks. Then, lightly, so lightly she could hardly tell it happened, he leaned in and touched his lips to hers. Just for a second.

After a few minutes, Harry broke the silence.

"Ginny, do you want to tell me what's going on? I am really worried about you," he said quietly.

"No. Sometime, maybe I will, but not now. I don't feel like talking about it. I made a lot of mistakes and right now, I don't feel like reliving them. Sorry," she said sadly.

'It's okay, Ginny I understand. Just, when you are ready, don't be afraid to talk to me. No matter what I will still care about you and nothing you say will change that. I just want to help you. Your family wants to help you. All I ask is that you let us help."

"I don't know if I can, Harry," she blinked back tears that were, once again, threatening to fall from her eyes. "I don't know if I can face my family again after this. I'm a _pole dancer_ for god's sake. We both know they won't approve of that."

"They don't have to know. If you agree to never go back there again and let me help you, then we will pretend that you never had that particular occupation," he bargained, sweeping a strand of hair back from her face. "I understand that you needed money and had no muggle skills to get a different job, okay?"

"So they won't ever know at all?" she asked, a small glimmer of hope endeavoring to show in her brown eyes.

"Gin, I know you don't want them to find out. Not to mention I'm not to keen on bringing up how it was that I ended up in that dance bar originally," he replied, a small half smile gracing his otherwise hollow features.

"Alright, Harry. I won't go back and I will let you help me."

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A/N: I hope you liked it. Reviews will help me get this story really going again!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.

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A/N:This is different from the previous chapter I had as chapter five. That was really chapter four since there had been one that was just an author's note.

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Falsities

Chapter Five

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As Ginny showered, Harry sat in his tiny kitchen and thought about what he was trying to do. He knew he had to convince her to rejoin the magical world, but he was sure that would prove to be hard to do without knowing precisely why she had left in the first place. Two years previously, Harry, Ron and Hermione and left on a mission to aid the war against Voldemort. They had returned a month ago, only to find the rest of the Weasley family in dire need of some good news to shine past the negative. They'd been told that Ginny had left shortly before their return and that they had no idea of her reasoning or her whereabouts.

They had, in the end, defeated he who called himself Lord Voldemort. Despite how ecstatic the wizarding world had become upon news of this, Harry had not been able to find much joy within his big victory. He found himself sinking lower and lower into depression and had decided that getting away for a while would be the best idea. He, Hermione and Ron all found their own flats in London, within a ten-mile radius of one another. He figured that his two best friends spent plenty of time together, what with all the sexual tension that had finally gotten to them the day the returned from the war against Voldemort. Harry however, chose to remain somewhat distant from his fellow war heroes. He still corresponded with Ron, Hermione and everyone else frequently enough, but he was very much withdrawn.

Had Ginny left for a similar reason? Had she decided that the terrors she had seen in her lifetime had been plenty, therefore making the decision to leave in order to heal her mind? This idea seemed entirely possible to Harry. He would have left the whole thing behind when he was fifteen if he could have. He had always known however, that he was obligated to stay with the wizarding world until Voldemort was defeated, even if that resulted in his own demise. So it did not seem very unlikely that Ginny may have found herself lost in a depression, just as Harry had, and had left to try to recover herself from her own personal dark ages.

The only question was, if that was the case, then what was she doing working in a strip club? How could selling her body possibly lift a dark mood?

Basically, the things he thought might be a reason for her leaving conflicted greatly with what she did after her departure from the magical world. He knew for a fact that working at that bar could not improve her mood, had she left due to wanting to escape depression as he had guessed. _This doesn't make any sense._ Harry thought to himself with dissatisfaction. He could not think of another reason for her leaving besides the one he had come up with. He was pretty sure she wouldn't have left because of some uncontrollable desire to become a pole dancer. He could also safely assume that it wasn't that she had wanted to be a muggle, like a handful of wizards he'd heard of had done.

The shower turned off in the bathroom, making Harry realize he'd told Ginny he'd have breakfast on the table when she got out. He stood, sighing in frustration at his inconclusive pondering, and headed over to the fridge.

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A/N: Review? Please? 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.

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A/N: I am so sorry for not updating this in like two years or however long it has been. Please, go back and read the first five chapters before you read this one. Chances are, you have forgotten what they were about plus, I went through and changed them all and I added chapter five (removing one chapter that was nothing but an author's note). I apologize in advance for this chapter because it is really wordy and kind of goes on about the same semi-boring topic for too long. Sorry, I just had to explain it properly and it ended up taking more words than I had intended.

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Falsities

Chapter Six

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Ginny shut and locked the bathroom door and turned on the hot water in the shower. She took off Harry's t-shirt, avoiding seeing herself in the mirror. Ever since she had entered the muggle world, leaving behind her family and everything she was familiar with, she preferred not to see her reflection. Except for the time she spent at the dance bar applying makeup and body glitter, she never looked in a mirror.

The apartment she had been staying in was too cheap to provide anything but icy cold water to shower with. The heat of Harry's shower eased her tense muscles and she was surprised at how much she missed hot showers. She stood under the flow of water from the showerhead for several minutes, thinking only of attempting to relax. She needed some time to just rest her mind and not think anymore. Picking up each of the four bottles in the shower, she read each carefully. She washed her hair and body, making sure her mind was on nothing but the act of showering.

Once she was satisfactorily clean and her mind was thoroughly blank, she allowed thoughts to return to her. Ginny had no idea as to why Harry was so insistent about helping her dig herself out of the hell hole she had gotten buried into. She knew he was going to inquire as to why she abandoned the magical world to pretend she was a muggle pole dancer. This wasn't a story that she particularly wanted to share with Harry, or anyone for that matter.

And what happened when she did tell him? He had already said he wouldn't mention the whole strip club part of it to anyone, but what about the rest? She couldn't bear to think of how her family would react when they learned that she left out of fear of the fight. They had all always supported Harry and they all fought for everything Harry Potter had come to stand for. Her parents and brothers were all so incredibly selfless, risking their lives to bring down the dark lord who had been terrorizing the magical community since before she was even born. Ginny did not know if she could be as self-sacrificing as they had all been.

Of course, she agreed with their cause. She had wanted Voldemort to be destroyed just as much as the rest of her family. She had wanted to help Harry in completing that task. It really wasn't that Ginny Weasley was averse to doing the right thing and helping to make their world a better place. It was simply that she didn't know if she could help. She didn't know if she was ready to risk her young life fighting the dark arts. It was a lot to be asked of a teenage girl.

Feeling selfish and pathetic, Ginny thought of how horrible it would be to see the faces of her family when they found out that she left out of such self-centered fear. Hadn't her brothers along with a countless number of her friends agreed to risk their lives to save the wizarding world when they were teenagers? She knew she was a disappointment to everyone, but she didn't know if she was brave enough to go out there and fight. Sure, Voldemort was gone for good, she'd learned that the week after she had left home. It was such a big event that the celebration couldn't even be hidden from the muggle world. Much like, as she had been told, it was when Harry had survived the killing curse when he had only been a year old.

Finding that her hot water was running out, Ginny turned off the shower and stepped out. She grabbed a thick green towel off the rack on the wall, dried off and wrapped it around herself. With a start, she realized that she had no clothes to change into. Sighing and feeling more like a whore than she already did, she walked out into Harry's kitchen wearing only a towel.

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A/N:I don't know when I will get to the next chapter, but reviews would definitely help me to get working on that. The next chapter will have much more action and dialogue and whatnot in it, so it should be much more interesting and less wordy than this one is. So please review and forgive me for not updating in so long. 


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